Lance handling apparatus



A. J. BOYNTON LANCE HANDLING APPARATUS May 12, 1959 2 Sheets-'Sheet 1 Filed Apri 15, 1957 INVENTOR. 'far JQ/m,

May 12, 1959 A. J. BoYNToN LANCE HANDLING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 TQQ INVENTOR. A @"fn] 503/725072, BY

Filed April l5, 1957 United States Patent O 2,886,308 LANCE HANDLING 'APPARATUS Arthur I. Boynton, Chicago, Ill., assignor to A. J. Boynton & Co., Chicago, Ill., .a corporation of Illinois The invention relates to an improvement in apparatus for use in the oxygen converter process of steel making, and haslreference more particularly to novelk meansfor suspending the, oxygen lance whereby to permit the passage of cranes above the converter and which in addition will afford greater convenience in inspecting, cleaning and servicing the lance. A.

The oxygen converter process is carried on in a metal vessel lined with refractory material and having an open upper end and which is supported at about its mid-height by two trunnions for permitting oscillatory movement of the converter about a horizontal axis. Oxidation of the metalloids contained in the charge is eiected by blowing onto the surface of the charge a vcontinuous jet of oxygen at high pressure with the resultant formation of steel. The lance through which the oxygen is passed c011- tains a central passage for the oxygen and two concentric walls for the-inlet and` outlet of water for cooling purposes. When receiving oxygen the converter is vertically positioned and the lance passes through a hood and depends into the converter relatively close to the surface -of the charge. Theheight of the point of clearance above the hood is approximately fifty feet. kWithdrawal of the lance, so that its llowest point clears the hood, requires lan upward movement -from the working position of thirty feet 'or more. Thus the height lfor suspending the lance must be at least eighty feet which'is in excess ofanyI other requirement and` vso involves expensive construction. Furthermore, the permanent suspension of the lance above the converter prevents the passage of cranes at this point.v

In order to avoid the necessity of a high building for y lance suspension, and to provide means whereby the main n cranescan ypass over the converter, and also `permit the entire operation to take place in one bay withone system of cranes, the invention has for its objective the provision driven mechanism in associated relation therewith for of tower means for supporting the lance with power tions, l and -which will not extend the height of thek crane rails beyond that otherwise required. In addition the improved "lance` supporting structure will afford greater conveniencey in inspecting, cleaning and servicing the lance. l

l Another ,object of the invention is to provide supporting means vfor the purposes described which will essentially consist of a tower located at floor level and vhavin-g `a vertically 'movable mast equipped with a horizontally movable arm for suspending the lance and which accordingly may be raised and lowered with respect to the cony verter by movement of the mast.

. lA more specific object is to provide a structural tower having a vertically movable mast mounted within the same and to the upper end of which is fixed a table for a horizont'ally disposed lance suspending arm, with power means Mice for raising and lowering the mast and independent power means for oscillating the arm. f

A further object of the invention is to provide `lance suspension means of the character as described wherein the tower and mast may be constructed of conventional structural elements and wherein cable means are employed for eiecting vertical movement of the mast.

With these and various other objects in view, the invention may consist of certain novel featuresfof construction and operation, as will be more fully described and particularly pointed outj in the specification, drawings and claims appended hereto.

In the drawings which illustrate an embodiment of the invention and wherein like reference characters are used `to designate like partsff i Figure4 1 is a front elevational view showing a typical oxygen converter for producing steel with the improved lance supporting apparatus of the invention in associated relation therewith;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal sectional view through the lance supporting arm showing the journalling means for' the arm and also showing the lance in suspended relation at one end of the arm;

Figure 3 is a transverse sectional view through the structural tower of the lance supporting apparatus taken approximately on line 3-3 of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional viewtaken approximately on line` 4--4 of Figure l; and

Figure 5 is aitransverse sectional view taken approximately on line 5-5 of Figure l.

The-oxygen converter process of steel making is carried on in a `steel vessel lined with refractory material and having a solid bottom and an open top end. The vessel, which is termed' a converter, is identified by numeral 10 in Figure 1, and trunnions such as 11 project laterally from the converter approximately midway of its height for rotatably supporting the vessel on the standards 12 whereby the converter can be rocked about a horizontal axis for loading and for discharging purposes. Oxidation ofthe metalloids contained inthe charge is effected by blowing onto the surface of the molten 'metal within the converter a continuous jet of oxygen at high pressure and the lance through which the oxygen is passed is identified in its entirety by numeral 14. The oxygen ows through the central passage formed by the tubular member 15 and said member is surrounded by concentric cylinders 16 and 18 for the passage of water'under pressure for cooling purposes. The outer'cylinder 16 is closed at both ends by the end closure members 20 and the inlet 21 when suitably connected supplies the cylinder with water which Hows downwardly to the bottom of the cylinder and then enters the open bottom end of the inner cylinder 18. In owing upwardly through the inner cylinder the liquid is in direct contact with the'oxygen supply pipe '15 and eventually the liquid is discharged through the outlet 22 since the top end of cylinder 18 is closed by member 23. A self-aligning seat for the lance structure is provided by the parts 24 and 25 and said parts suspend the lance 14 from the outer end of a lance supporting arm identiied in its entirety by numeral 26.

The hot gases which issue from the open top end of the converter are collected by a hood such as 27 and conducted to the atmosphere. Accordingly, during the conversion process the lance depends through an opening 28 in the hood and into the converter 10, being positioned approximately two feet above the charge in the converter. The lance must necessarily be suspended above the converter and the same is lowered through the hood and into the converter at the start-of the blowing vperiod and is withdrawn at the conclusion of said period. In accordance with the invention, supporting structure is provided for the lance suspending arm 26 in the form of a structural tower having a vertically movable mast mounted within the confines of the tower, said mast journalling the arm to permit rotation of the armin a horizontal plane above and over the converter, all as best shown in Figures to inclusive, whichV structure will nowbe described in ta Y VReferring first of all to the structural tower 30, the same is supported at ground level by any suitable supporting structure such as 31 which may extend some distance into the ground with only a part of the same, as shown in Figure l1, extending above ground level. The tower essentially consists of four structural beams 32, 33, 34 `and 35 disposed vertically and which form the four corners, respectively, of the tower. Said structural beams are suitably joined at vertically spaced intervals by the horizontal members 36 and the structural elements of the tower are largely completed by the crossed members 37 and 38 which are located on each side of the four-sided tower for connecting adjacent pairs of structural beams. The tower may incorporate additional bracing as illus- Vtrated in Figure 5, wherein facing plates such as 40, 41, 42 and 43 are employed in addition to members such as 44, 45, 46 and 47, which provide journalling means for the rollers 50, 51, 52 and 53. Members 44 and 45 have welded thereto the inwardly extending arms 54 which carry the stud shafts 55 for rotatably supporting the rollers 50 and 51, respectively. In a similar manner the members 46 and 47 have welded thereto theinwardly extending arms 56 which carry the stud shafts 57 for rotatably supporting the rollers 52 and 53, respectively. The tie bolts 58 serve to the hold the members 44 and 45 in place and similar tie bolts 59 are provided for the members 46 and 47.

A structural mast indicated in its entirety by numeral 60 is disposed longitudinally within the tower 30 and which is additionally mounted by the tower for movement in directions vertically for the purpose of raising and lowering the lance supporting arm and thus the lance. The mast is fabricated from structural sections and plates and, as best shown in Figure 4, it will be observed that a pair of channel sections 61 and 62 are positioned in facing relation to each other and said channel sections are secured together in desired spaced relation by the central eyebeam 63. Facing plates such as 64 and 65 complete the structural mast and it will be understood that the structural sections extend for the length of the mast and that the same are suitably welded to each other to form a unitary integral structure. The mast has a length in excess of that of the tower when measured from ground level to the top end of the tower since it is desired that the mast project above the tower in all positions thereof, whereby the lance suspending arm is thus located above the tower and over the converter 10.

As described in connection with Figure 5, the rollers 50 and 51 are suitably journalled so as to have contacting relation with the channel sections 61 and 62 and thus the mast is supported and guided at the upper end of the tower by said rollers with respect to a Y-Y axis, as shown in Figure 3. The rollers 52 and 53 are journalled so as to have contacting relation with the facing plates 64 and 65 and thus these rollers in a similar manner guide and support the mast with respect to an X-X axis, also shown in Figure 3. The bottom of the mast carries a pulley such as 66 and by means of a cable and pulley structure to be presently described the mast is suitably guided and the mast can .be caused to move up and down within the tower for raising and lowering the lance supporting arm. The numeral 70 indicates a converter platform which extends around the converter with sufficient clearance to permit rocking of the converter for charging and discharging purposes, and said platform also extends around the tower 30v to provide, among other things, a support for the electric motor 71, the gear reduction unit 72, and the winch mechanism 73. The electric motor 71 drives the shaft 74 which has a coupling connection with the gear reducing unit 72 and said unit through shaft 75 is suitably connected to the winch 73 which controls the winding and unwinding of the cable 76. The winch is additionally connected to brake mechanism such as 77, and this unit is also supported on the converter platform 70.

The cable from the winch 73 extends downwardly, as shown in Figure l, to pass around pulley 78 suitably journalled by the member 80 xed to the tower 30 adjacent the lower end thereof. From the pulley 78v the cable extends upwardly and passes around the pulley 81 journalled by structure forming part of the tower, as best shown in Figure 4. From the pulley 81 the cable extends downwardly within the towerand passes around pulley 66 carried by the mast 60 at its lower end. From pulley 66 the cable passes upwardly, also within the tower, and over pulley 82 for attachment to the xed arm 83. It will be seen therefore that the pulley structure for raising and lowering the mast 60 is also constructed and arranged so as to provide a desirablelever ratio so that the heavy mast and arm supported thereby can be elevated and lowered at a desired rate of travel but which, however, does not place any excessive energy demands on the electric motor The lance supporting arm 26 is journalled by the mast at the top end of the mast and as a result the arm may rotate in an arc of at least 9() degrees to permit the lance to service the converter and to be moved away from the converter when not in use. The journalling structure, as shown in Figure 2, includes a top plate 85, which is secured by bolts 86 to an underplate 87, the said underplate being welded or otherwise secured to the top end of the mast and forming a right angle with the longitudinal axis of the mast. This built-up top plate structure provides a support for the pintle 88 which projects vertically from the top plate structure in an upward direction to receive the collar 90. Said collar is fixed to the lance supporting arm by means of the circular underplate 92 and the bolts 91. To increase the strength and rigidity of the arm in the vicinity of the pintle 88 the arm is provided with transverse channel sections such as 93. It is also desirable to stabilize the arm, particularly during its rotary movement with respecty to the mast, and for this purpose stabilizing rollers such as 94 and 95 are provided and which are cone-shaped so that said rollers have a surface complementary to the tapering outer surface 96 formed around the periphery on the underside of the top plate 85. For journalling the rollers 94 an arcuate member such as 97 is suitably welded to the undersurface of the lance supporting arm 26 in concentric relation withv the pintle 88. At spaced intervals around the arcuate member 97 a collar 98 is inserted through an opening in the member and said collar is welded in place. The collar carries a stud shaft 100 on which a roller 94 is journalled.

In a similar manner an arcuate member 101 is welded to the undersurface of the arm'on the side opposite member 97 and yalso in concentric relation with the pintle 88. Collars such as 102 are retained by said member at spaced intervals and each collar provides a stud shaft 103 on which a roller 95 is journalled. Thus the arcuate members 97 and 101, together with their collars and the cone-shaped rollers 94 and 95, comprise a unit and which has bodily movement with the lance supporting arm 26 as said arm is caused to rotate. The structure is highly successful in stabilizing the arm and maintaining the ann in a horizontal plane approximately at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the mast while permitting freedom of the arm to rotate with respect to the pintle 88. Whereas, the weight of said arm and structures carried thereby is applied to the top plate as a `downward force in compression, it will be seen that any bending stresses of the arm caused by deviation from its horizontal plane will be applied by the cone-shaped rollers 94 and 95 to the underside of said top plate and there- S fore in an upward direction in opposition to the com pression forces.

For rotating the lance supporting arm 26, a gear segment 104 is secured by bolts 105 to the top surface of plate 85 and on that side of the plate adjacent rollers 94, as viewed in Figure 2. A driving pinion 106 is adapted to mesh with the gear segment 104 and the pinion is suitably journalled by the drive shaft 107 located within the gear housing 108 and having the worm gear 109 ixed thereto. The Worm gear 109 has meshing relation with a pinion, not shown, fixed to shaft 110 of the gear reducing unit 111, and an electric motor 112 has driving connection with the gear reducing unit through the shaft and coupling unit identified by numeral 113. Accordingly, energization of the electric motor 112 will rotate shaft 110 of the gear reducing unit 111, and through worm gear 109 the shaft 107 is driven to produce rotation of the pinion 106. Since the gear segment 104 is stationary, being fixed to the top plate structure 85 and 87 of the mast 60, it will be understood that the arm 26 is lcaused to rotate with. respect to the gear segment and for most installations it is desirable that the gear segment and associated parts be constructed and arranged to permit the arm to rotate in an arc of at least 90 degrees.

The gear housing 108, gear reducing unit 111, and electric motor 112 are located on the `arm 26 on that side of the pintle 88 opposite the lance 14, and accordingly, rthis driving structure for effecting rotation of the arm additionally functions as a counterbalancing weight for counterbalancing the lance. Since the lance is located at a much greater distance from the pintle 88, it may be necessary to supply additional counterbalancing means and the same may take the form of a concrete block such as 114 suitably fixed to the end of the arm 26 below the motor 112.

For servicing the converter at the start of an oxygen blowing period the motor 71 is energized to wind -up the cable 76, which has the etect of elevating the mast 60 and the cable is wound on the 'winch until the mast, the lance supporting arm, and the lance are all located in the elevated position as illustrated by the dotted lines in Figure 1. While the parts are held in this position the motor 112 is energized to effect rotation of the lance from an inoperative position disposed to one side of the converter to a position directly over the converter and in line with opening 28 in the hood 27. The brake 77, having' associated relation with the winch -structure 73, is then actuated to release the winch to effect a lowering of the mast 60 and a lowering of the lance through opening 28 and into the converter 10. The lance is now in a position to supply oxygen to the surface of the molten metal within the converter and at the conclusion of this operation the lance is withdrawn from the converter and by rotation of the lamt the lance is again located to one side of the converter. Upon movement of to pass over the converter.

the mast to its lowered position the parts remain as thus located until -the start of another oxygen blowing period. T'he motors 71 and 112 may be electrically interlocked one with the other and both motors may be interlocked with the motors of a crane positioned above and adapted As a result the lance supporting structure cannot be actuated when the crane is over the converter and likewise the crane cannot be operated when the lance structure is over the converter, so that operation of one cannot interfere with that of the other.

I claim:

1. In lance supporting structure, the combination with an oxygen converter for producing steel, of a structural tower terminating at a height above the open top end of the converter when said converter is vertically positioned, a structural mast disposed within the tower for vertical movement parallel to the longitudinal axis of the tower, roller means journalled by the tower for guiding the mast during its vertical movement, said mast having its top end extending above the top end of the tower in all vertical positions of the mast, top plate structure xed to the extending end of the mast and having a right angle relation with the mast, a pintle anchored by the top plate structure and projecting upwardly from said structure, a lance supporting arm, journalling means including said pintle and top plate structure for supporting and rotatably mounting the lance supporting arm for movement in a horizontal plane, a gear segment fixed to the top plate structure, a pinion gear journalled by the arm and having meshing relation with said gear segment, motor mechanism carried by the arm for driving the pinion gear whereby to effect rotation of the arm, an oxygen supplying lance suspended from the end of the arm opposite the motor mechanism, and means in associated relation with the mast and tower for effecting vertical travel of the mast with respect to the tower.

2. Lance supporting structure as deiined by claim l, additionally including stabilizing rollers supported from the arm and having contact with the undersurface of the top plate structure for stabilizing the arm yduring rotation of the same.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 51,397 Bessemer Dec. 5, 1865 1,876,732 Neuhauss Sept. 13, 1932 1,916,042 Edgar July 27, 1933 2,781,260 Grandpierre Feb. 12, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 37,754 Sweden Oct. 2, 1912 220,279 Great Britain Feb. 19, 1925 OTHER REFERENCES Journal of Metals, volume 5, No. 3, March 1953. 

